Indie authors not only have to learn how to be self publishers, but self-publicists as well. One of the core deliverables of any book publicist is usually referred to as “the blurb.” That’s the short piece that appears on the back of a paperback, and in a longer form, on the somewhat more generous real estate afforded by a hard cover book jacket. For an eBook, it’s most important function is to appear as the book’s summary at Amazon and any other on-line distribution platforms the author plans to use. Now that I’m on the countdown to launch The Doodlebug War, book three in the Frank Adversego thriller series, I’d love your opinion of what I’ve worked up so far.

There are various theories about what makes the best book blurb. Most pundits agree that a blurb shouldn’t be a simple plot summary, and that it should not be crammed with self-congratulatory superlatives. Most also lean toward shorter blurbs now than in the past. But all agree that the main role of the blurb is to sufficiently capture the interest of a potential reader to lead her to take the plunge and buy the book.

For genre fiction, that’s a particularly challenging assignment, since so many thousands, and even millions, of books in each of the most popular genres have already gone before. So how do you stand out from that kind of eye-glazing competition?

Unfortunately, there’s no magic formula. So if you have any suggestions on how I could improve the following, I’d be delighted to receive them, either in the comment field below or by email.  Here’s what I’m working with so far:

The Doodlebug War, a Tale of Fanatics and Romantics (Frank Adversego Thriller #3)

The time is the immediate future, and the Caliphate is the enemy in the third Frank Adversego cybersecurity thriller. Mullah Muhammad Foobar, the mysterious leader of a terrifying post-ISIS terrorist organization, has won control of much of the Middle East, and threatens to launch an attack that will bring the United States and Europe to their knees – and on their own soil.

But How? The CIA turns to cybersecurity super sleuth Frank Adversego to answer that question, and to help thwart the attack before it occurs.  Frank must overcome personal as well as cyber trials before defeating the Black Hats by discovering an all-too-possible way in which our headlong rush to exploit technology may lead to our own downfall – not at some theoretical point in the future, but as soon as tomorrow.  

In the words of “world’s greatest hacker” Kevin Mitnick:

Andrew Updegrove has done it again – delivered an impossible to put down thriller while exposing a dire cyber vulnerability that until now has gone unnoticed

What do you think? Would this come-on lead you to buy The Doodlebug War?

How to hack a Presidential Election:

The Lafayette Campaign, a Tale of Elections and Deceptions